U.N. Millennium Assembly ConcludesThe United Nations General Assembly concluded its 55th session on Monday at the U.N. headquarters in New York, Xinhua reported.Speaking at a closing ceremony, Harri Holkeri, president of the 55th session of the U.N. General Assembly, said he feels honored as the president of the Millennium Assembly, the largest ever gathering of world leaders with influence worthy of historic status. "As this 55th session of the General Assembly draws to a close, I feel deeply honored and privileged to have served as its President," he said. "That this session was designated the Millennium Assembly of the United Nations and the adoption of the historic Millennium Declaration made my task a particular challenge." Recalling the session, the president said one of the priorities of his term was to set prompt and effective follow-up to the Millennium Summit. He said that the Millennium Declaration has helped set the agenda and outcome of a series of major conferences during the session. "From the LDC (the Least Developed Countries) conference through the special sessions on Habitat and HIV/AIDS to the recent conferences on small arms and racism, the declaration has provided an important backdrop," said the president. However, Holkeri warned that the world body is still far from a truly integrated follow-up to the Summit. "Unfortunately, both member states and the respective entities of the Secretariat seem to be unable to break the habit of viewing and considering different issues in isolation. Proper focus is needed, but in the overall context of the global agenda," he noted. On the issue of security council reform, the president said he had tried to pursue comprehensive reform on different fronts. The General Assembly, set up in 1945 under the Charter of the United Nations, is the United Nations main deliberative organ and provides a forum for multilateral discussion on full range of international issues covered by the Charter. The Assembly comprises all members of the United Nations and meets in regular session each year from September to December, and thereafter as required. The United Nations General Assembly will open its 56th session Tuesday. |
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